The Portland Trail Blazers retired #15 to honor Larry Steele, the first player to put the franchise on the map for something other than losing. Selected in the 1971 NBA Draft, Steele joined an expansion team with no playoff history, no championship pedigree, and no star power, and he answered with relentless defense. In the 1974–75 season he led the entire NBA in steals at 2.68 per game, and his selection to the All-Defensive Team made him the first Trail Blazer to receive that recognition. He played his entire NBA career with Portland from 1971 to 1980 — nine seasons spanning the franchise's origins through its championship era — and was part of the 1977 title team. Portland retired #15 because Steele made being a Trail Blazer mean something before the rest of the league was paying attention.
The Career
Larry Steele was a Trail Blazer before being a Trail Blazer meant anything. Selected in the 1971 NBA Draft, he joined an expansion team with no playoff history, no championship pedigree, and no star power — just the hard work of building something from scratch. Steele embraced that assignment with a defensive tenacity that would define his entire career.
Steele played his entire NBA career with Portland from 1971 to 1980, nine seasons that spanned the franchise's origins through its championship era. He was part of the 1977 title team, contributing the defensive pressure and veteran leadership that a championship run demands.
The Numbers
In the 1974–75 season, Steele did something no Portland player had done before and very few have done since: he led the entire NBA in steals. His 2.68 steals per game ranked first in the league, making him the most disruptive defensive guard in professional basketball. This was before steals became a celebrated statistic, before players campaigned for All-Defensive recognition on social media. Steele simply played the right way, and the numbers reflected it.
His selection to the All-Defensive Team made him the first Trail Blazer to receive that recognition, a distinction that carries weight in a franchise proud of its defensive identity. Steele was not a scorer — he averaged in the single digits for most of his career — but he understood that winning required stops, and he delivered them night after night.
The Legacy
Portland retired #15 to honor the first player to put the franchise on the map for something other than losing. Larry Steele made being a Trail Blazer mean something before the rest of the league was paying attention.
